I’m delighted to present the first LatAm Tech Weekly of 2024. This week’s edition is unique as it delves into an insightful analysis shedding light on the upcoming trends in the venture capital market.
Before we delve into that, let’s take a quick look back at the whirlwind 2023. Don’t worry; we’ll return to our regular format next week, so stay tuned!
Reflecting on the past year, here’s a snapshot of the writer’s journey and achievements:
- Crafted 48 editions of the LatAm Tech Weekly newsletter
- Highlighted 38 incredible ‘Startups to Watch’
- Wrote a whopping 65,000 characters solely on Substack, equivalent to more content than a 200-page book
- Received 14 mentions across various news outlets
- Participated in 19 podcasts and videos
- Engaged with the community through 28 live events as a panelist
- Garnered +16,000 followers on LinkedIn and +12,000 followers on Instagram
It’s been a year of growth, learning, and connecting, and the anticipation for carrying this momentum forward is palpable.
Gaining Insights from the Past
As highlighted in the last edition, understanding the past is key to navigating the future of the VC industry. To that end, CB Insights recently published its State of Venture 2023 report, complete with Q4 data, and the findings are quite telling.
The report underscores a trend of ongoing market uncertainty and investor wariness, culminating in a significant dip in venture deal activity. The last quarter of 2023 marked a 7-year low in the overall number of venture deals. The U.S. particularly felt the brunt of this slowdown, with its quarterly deal count falling to a 10-year low, at just 2,182 deals.
However, amidst this slowdown, there’s a noteworthy shift: investors are increasingly focusing on early-stage investments. In fact, about two-thirds of all deals were in the early stages. This implies that securing mid- and later-stage deals has become more challenging.
This pivot in investment strategy offers a glimpse into the evolving dynamics of the venture capital landscape as we step further into the year.